National Coffee Day

Happy National Coffee Day. As if we need an excuse to buy coffee for a friend.

Do you remember the Maryland State Trooper who maybe drank too much coffee and pulled his gun on a speeding motorcyclist? The motorcycle rider, Anthony Graber, posted helmetcam video to YouTube of officer Joseph Uhler jumping out of his patrol car with his weapon drawn. The police responded by raiding Graber’s home, seizing his video and computer equipment, and arresting him for violating Maryland’s wiretapping laws. Happily, Maryland Circuit Court Judge Emory A. Plitt Jr threw out the charges, ruling that police officers enjoy little expectation of privacy as they perform their duties.

“Those of us who are public officials and are entrusted with the power of the state are ultimately accountable to the public,” Plitt wrote. “When we exercise that power in a public forum, we should not expect our activity to be shielded from public scrutiny.”

Thank you, Judge Plitt.

Caffeine is not prohibited by the World Anti Doping Agency, so Svitlana Galyuk (pictured below) can drink as much coffee as she can handle as she races in the UCI Road World Championships in Geelong, Australia. I have about a zillion more photos from the UCI Road Worlds – I’ll try to post if there’s time.

I’m curious why somebody would think CDs inserted into bike spokes is newsworthy? Does the fact that it occurred in Copenhagen instead of, say, Kansas City, make it special?

Grist: Should cyclists pay a road tax? As far as I can tell, there are no import duties, tariffs or taxes on coffee. The United States Government publishes a “Harmonized Tariff Schedule,” and “Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee
husks and skins” are all listed as “Free.” The only exception is “Coffee substitutes containing coffee,” which is charged either 1.5¢/kg, 6.6¢/kg, or nothing, depending on which “Rate of Duty” applies.

Danish bike crash caught on Google Maps. The location is Vestergade 12, 1456 København, Denmark, but Google has changed the image and removed the crash. Reportedly, the crashing cyclist saw the Google Maps car and crashed while he tried to take a photo of it. Oops.